The central government has consulted the Union Public Service Commission on the plan to recruit private citizens into the higher judiciary. The UPSC is tasked with recruiting officer-level employees of the Union. The center seems to be trying to clarify whether there is a legal requirement to involve the UPSC the latest move. “Advice of […]
The Union Government of India has, for the first time, invited people who are not part of the Indian Administrative Service or IAS to join as top bureaucrats in the central government. The Department of Personnel and Training has invited anyone with 15 years of expertise in areas such as finance, energy and commerce to […]
Boosted by the first big victory since in several years, Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi said his party will join hands with the opposition to “protect Indian institutions” from the attacks of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh. Speaking in the aftermath of the BJP failing to win majority in Karnataka Assembly, Gandhi […]
Faced with severe criticism from the media and the opposition, the Prime Minister’s office has directed the Information & Broadcasting ministry to withdraw the ‘fake news’ directive. The ministry had, last evening, issued a statement that envisaged provisions to punish journalists who reported ‘fake news’. According to the press release issued yesterday, action — including […]
The central government has abandoned its plans to set up a national skills university as well as a draft bill that was prepared for this purpose, the ministry of development and entrepreneurship said. Development of vocation skills, such as carpentry, electrician and catering and so on, was one of the key areas of emphasis for […]
Southern railway zones, especially Southern Railway, are far behind their northern and western counterparts in fining those who litter the station premises, data from the Indian Railways showed. According to the data for the first ten months of the current year, Southern Railway division — which covers Kerala and Tamil Nadu — was able to […]
Thomas Cook, India’s largest travel services company, said it was chosen as the hospitality partner for government of India’s national school games that was held as part of the ‘Khelo India’ (Play India) program last week. Without disclosing the financial details of the contract, Thomas Cook said it provided accommodation and meals for 5,000 students […]
The percentage of Indians who have access to toilets has jumped to 77.52% from 38.7% in October 2014, the ministry of drinking water and sanitation said. The jump is largely due to the implementation of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. Under the mission, a total of 6.11 cr toilets have been built in rural […]
An online poll conducted by Ultra News with 1,200 respondents indicated continued strong support for incumbent prime minister Narendra Modi compared to challenger Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress. The poll reached out to around 21,400 people on Facebook, out of which around 6% indicated their choice one way or the other (see below). […]
Hardik Patel, who recently joined with the Congress Party to give a scare to the BJP in Gujarat state elections, said attempts are being made to silence Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia. Gujarat state Congress President Arjun Modhwadia was also present in the hospital with Patel and Togadia. “There is a political conspiracy to […]
The number of income tax e-filings increased by 19.5% this year compared to last year as demonetization forced many people declare their hitherto undeclared incomes. A total of 3.89 cr e-filings were recorded in the current financial year as of Nov 7, compared to 3.25 cr in the same period of the previous year, the […]
The Indian stock markets are today expected to reflect the results of exit polls from the second phase of Gujarat state elections by the afternoon, even as television channels have to wait till the end of voting to show the results. Several channels, including Times Now, ABP and CNN News18 have tied up with pollsters […]
The Ahmedabad administration has denied permission to the ‘roadshows’ planned by Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad tomorrow. The separate roadshows would have featured Modi and Rahul Gandhi traversing the city in a last minute effort to boost their respective parties’ chances. Parts of the state, including Ahmedabad, are scheduled to go […]
Mani Shankar Aiyar tried to undo the damage he caused to the party’s prospects in Gujarat by calling Narendra Modi — who hails from a group classified under the Other Backward Communities — ‘neech’ (low or low-caste), but Modi sought to take advantage of the controversy by seizing on the remark. “Hindi is not my […]
By all accounts, the chances of a Congress victory is becoming stronger and stronger in Gujarat, a state that goes to the polls on Sunday. The possibility was almost unthinkable two months ago, even to Congress strategists, but the ‘Patel factor’ is likely to be the deciding factor in not only nullifying the BJP’s edge, […]
Doklam is in the news again, 40 days after the Chinese pulled back their construction equipment on the border plateau in deference to Indian sensitivities. With two weeks to go for the crucial National Congress of the Communist Party of China, India’s northern neighbor has again started construction activity near Doklam. Apart from some verbal […]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China to attend the upcoming conference of the BRICS forum on September 3-5, the Prime Minister’s Office said today. On the way back, he will also conduct a three-day visit to Myanmar, it added. “At the invitation of the President of People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Shri […]
India’s energy sector is facing low capacity utilisation in power generation as plant load factor is estimated to remain low at around 62 per cent until 2018-19, noted a recent ASSOCHAM-Crisil joint study. The study also expressed concern over the slow pace of reform implementation in certain areas. The study noted that India had made […]
More families belonging to the Other Backward Classes or OBCs will now be eligible to get benefits of reservation in government jobs and educational institutions after the government raised the income limit for such benefits. Under the new rules, candidates from households with annual income of up to Rs 8 lakhs — or Rs 66,666 […]
Eight months on, the Reserve Bank of India is yet to finish verifying and counting the 500- and 1000-rupee notes surrendered by the public between Nov 8 and Dec 30, 2016, the finance ministry said in a statement on Aug 11. UPDATE: About ten days after this article was published on Aug 17, the government […]
